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Session Thirteen
'' As you eat, drink, and make plans, the tavern does not fill up, nor do people come downstairs. Outside, through the shuttered windows, you can see that though dawn has broken over the village, the streets are still empty, though you can see that smoke now wafts up from some of the chimneys you can see from your table. At another table, one of the Vistani women - not the one who had spoken earlier - pulls out a book and begins to read, while behind the bar Arik continues to mindlessly clean one thing after another.'' Party *Alyssandra, the Human Paladin/Warlock. *Dakira, the Dragonborn Bard. *Devi, the Drow Paladin. *Kalil, the Half-Elf Shadow Sorcerer. *Mirarook, the Half-Orc Monk. *Tansy, the Tiefling Light Cleric. Into Motion Time passed, and the party finished their food and drinks. As the party discussed where to go next, Mirarook offered to take the box of remains back to the church, and Ismark joined her, leaving the party alone with Ireena who offered to show them the way to Bildrath's shop, which was just across the street. The shop was in relatively good condition compared to the buildings around it, and rather than being shuttered the windows instead were covered from within by heavy curtains. As they stepped inside, a bell over the door rang to tell of their arrival, and Bildrath himself greeted them from behind the counter. Shopping The party looked through the shop, though when Tansy and Alyssandra attempted to page through some of the books on one of the shelves, Bildrath called out to them that this wasn't a library. While Tansy sighed and put the book back, Alyssandra protested that she wished to see the condition of the book, to which Bildrath replied that you look with your eyes, not your hands, a concept even his nephew understood from a young age. Alyssandra continued to look through the book she had picked up, which was a bestiary, and while it was mostly pictures the writing was in a strange language she did not know. Before Bildrath could continue to snap at Alyssandra, Dakira stepped in with a number of items to buy, and was willing to barter with items she was willing to part with. She grew less willing to part with them when she became aware of how much Bildrath was charging, and how much he was willing to give her for the items. She and Tansy attempted to haggle, but when the tone became too aggressive for Bildrath's liking, he summoned his nephew from the stockroom in the back. Parpol - better known by his nickname, Parriwimple - came partially out of the room, returning Tansy's friendly wave with an anxious one of his own before asking his uncle if something was wrong. Bildrath made threats implying that he would have his nephew take care of any problems they might be having, but Dakira and Tansy managed to keep their tempers in check enough to only insult him and say he was missing out on good business. Bildrath did not seem worried. As Parriwimple ducked back into the stockroom, Ismark returned, his arrival announced by the bell over the door ringing again. He told Ireena that one of the Vistani women in the tavern had told him that Devi had woken up, and he had come to tell her that. As Alyssandra went to buy the book she'd found, Ireena tried to not appear too thankful for the excuse to leave the shop, and mostly succeeded until the party was out on the street, where she sighed and declared that she had told them they'd probably have better luck with the Vistani than dealing with Bildrath. From a Strange Land The party re-entered the tavern to find a significantly more sober and clean Devi than they had left behind. Tansy, assuming that a non-human face might do a better job offering comfort, approached her to ask if she was alright, and Ireena asked if she needed anything. In a hollow and detached sort of voice, Devi replied that she guessed she was fine, and if Ireena knew a way to go back in time to explain to a child that their ideals were foolish and better left abandoned. Ireena, getting used to the various oddities of the party, said she did not, and asked if she would be alright, to which Devi said she would have to be, and that she could use a good distraction if nothing else. Ireena replied with an offer to join the party in escorting her brother out of the village. Devi accepted, saying it would at least give her purpose, and asked when they were leaving. Ireena explained that they could leave whenever they wished to, though she had some supplies left at the manor that she was willing to part with, if they would like them. She offered to bring the party back to the manor, or she could leave them to talk, and in the end she took only Ismark with her to help retrieve things from the manor, leaving the party together at the tavern, saying they would not be gone long. When she left, Tansy said they should probably introduce themselves, and so she greeted Devi again, introducing herself as Tansy Goodcooper, cleric of Lathander. Devi introduced herself as Devi, and began to give her family name before stopping herself and saying not to bother with it, and said that she used to be a paladin of Tyr, but that she had returned to worshipping Lolth. Tansy and Alyssandra, who knew of Lolth, took this news poorly, to different degrees. Tansy simply said that that was quite a dramatic shift in gods, and asked what prompted such a change. As an explanation to the others, who did not know what Lolth was, Alyssandra announced that the drow are a dangerous and evil race, and that their goddess Lolth is as cruel as she is insane. Devi ignored Alyssandra and spoke to Tansy, asking if she'd seen her scars and bruises while helping her in her earlier drunken state. Tansy replied that she had, and Devi explained that those and other cruelties had befallen her while she was a devout worshipper of Tyr, working for the betterment of society, and that at least Lolth had never pretended to care. Tansy introduced the others of the party, as they had not done so, while Dakira asked how Devi expected them to react to an announcement that Devi was a servant to an evil goddess. Devi corrected her, saying that she was not a paladin of Lolth, nor a servant, merely a follower. Alyssandra dryly commented that that was quite the distinction, but said that there was no reason they could not be civil, and that if she truly wished to join them then she wouldn't stop her. Dakira asked if she was sure they wanted to invite more evil into their midst, which caused Devi to protest that she was not evil, glaring at Alyssandra. Alyssandra ignored her and said that Devi would be useful for their quest, and that if she caused trouble, they could deal with her when the time came. Uncomfortable with the atmosphere, Tansy tried to joke that maybe Davi could find something new to haunt her. No one responded. Dakira eventually gave in, saying that if she could tolerate Kalil, she could probably tolerate Devi. Tansy gently told Devi that she could bear to accompany the cleric of a sun god, that she was welcome to join them. Devi sarcastically remarked that she couldn't imagine why more of her people didn't decide to live on the surface with receptions like this. Alyssandra shot back that most people would kill a drow on sight. The door to the tavern opened as Ismark and Ireena returned, while Devi replied that she would rather have had that kind of greeting than what she had endured for the last year, and that it's interesting that the people of the surface would so willingly kill or kidnap even a servant of one of their own gods. As they arrived back at the table, Tansy loudly greeted Ireena and Ismark, hoping to end the conversation. As Ireena offered out a satchel to the group, Tansy again asked loudly if anyone had anything they could add to the pool. The party began to sort through their belongings, and though most did not have much that they believed would help, they all offered their items should they ever be needed. Dakira found the deed and will that they had taken from the cursed house, but said they were probably not going to do much for them. Ismark wondered if the windmill it mentioned might be the one near Vallaki, saying that you could see it from the road. Dakira asked if there was anything notable about it, and Ismark shrugged, saying he wasn't even sure it was functional, and that the only thing notable about it was that people were warned against going there, same as the wizard's tower and every other ruin in Barovia. Tansy and Alyssandra both remarked that they would rather not find out what lurks in the other abandoned places of this land, and Dakira agreed, saying that they also had important business to attend to. Ismark said that most people would agree with them, shooting his sister a pointed look as he continued, saying that some people would rather drag their friends and brothers out to look at the wizard's tower. Ireena ignored him, asking if the party was ready to go. Everyone agreed that they were, and so Ireena said she would show them the way out now. Things Gained * More of Devi's backstory. * Ismark. * Ismark's silvered longsword. * Ismark's lantern. * Satchels. * A bestiary. Developments The party is about to leave Barovia. Mirarook and Ireena will not be joining the party on their quest. Mirarook and Ismark took Doru's remains back to the church. The party encountered Bildrath and his nephew, Parriwimple. Devi has officially joined the party. Category:Curse of strahd Category:Village of barovia Category:Session